Good Byes.
AP Class of 2025
I start this good bye with a thank you. You never knew this, but you brought back to me some of the joy of teaching that I had been missing for the last while. You all willingly went along on the journey, and you worked hard and came back for more. You demonstrated yourselves to be thoughtful, insightful, and caring students in the ways you interacted with me and each other. You rekindled some hope I have for the future of humanity, and more importantly, you made class fun. I genuinely looked forward to teaching you each day. You do not know how much that means to me, but it means a great deal. You will truly be a class I long remember and think on positively.
I hope all of you find your way to success and joy. There will be bumps along the way, and there will be struggles, but I hope that each and everyone of you finds the success and happiness that you are all absolutely worthy of. Enjoy the time that is to come. Some of my fondest life memories are of my university years. Be open to the fun you will have in new experiences and be present to take advantage of all they offer. Be true to yourself and be kind to those you meet along the way – it is worth the effort.
I am always out here to hear of your successes and struggles and to cheer you on. Go be amazing.
Sincerely,
Culbert if you want it – FraserCulbert@hotmail.com ( I am old – I use email still – hahaha)
Student exit interviews run.
Friday's class: Letters of Appreciation and Good byes
One last preparation day before the interviews and wrap-up.
Next Class: Interviews start
Students spent the time preparing for their interviews.
Next Class: One last preparation
We heard the remainder of the presentation. Great job.
Next Class: A quick discussion on the exit interviews and what you can do to prepare for them.
We heard presentations from many students and they were all entertaining. Very well done.
For exit interviews here are some questions.
AP English Literature 12 Exit Interview Questions
Course Reflection
What piece of literature had the most impact on you this year, and why?
(Encourages deep reflection on texts and personal connection.)
How has your understanding or appreciation of literature evolved during this course?
(Assesses intellectual growth.)
Skills and Learning
Which literary skill (e.g., analysis, close reading, essay writing) do you feel you've improved the most in, and what helped you develop it?
Was there a moment this year when something “clicked” for you in your writing or interpretation of literature? Describe it.
Engagement and Challenge
Which assignment or project did you find most engaging or meaningful? Why did it stand out?
What was the most challenging part of the course for you, and how did you approach or overcome it?
Course Design and Teaching
Is there a novel, play, or poem you wish had been included in the curriculum? Why?
Was there a teaching method, class activity, or discussion format that really worked for you, or didn’t? Explain.
Looking Forward
What skills or insights from this class do you think you’ll carry into future academic or personal pursuits?
If you could give one piece of advice to next year’s AP Lit students, what would it be?
Next Class: More presentations
Our volunteer Hannah gave a wonderful lesson on the horror genre and asked questions about high and low culture, and shared some story examples with us. Great stuff. We had lots to discuss. Check the teams for the examples.
Next Class: Back to presentation to persuade us.
We heard 5 presentations and then it was "work" time.
Next Class: More presentations
Students worked on their presentations.
Next Class: Presentation time and work time.
Students had time to work on their persuasive presentation. Some did, eventually. Students were also told they could sign up for the exit interview.
Next Class: More work time.
Students (who were there) had time to work on their presentation. Some also had time to explore the 90s with some trivia.
Next Class: More work time
Students had a chance to share their two poems and comment on each other's work in small groups. This was meant as a means to celebrate the work students put in. Poems were then handed in.
Next class: Work block for Presentations that are due Friday.
Students had time to work on their pieces. They were technically due today.
Next Block: Share and Celebration of work
Students had time to work on their pieces.
Next Block: Work block and poems due
Students had time to work on their pieces.
Next Block: Work Block
Students were given one of their last assignments, and it was as follows;
Sales Pitch Assignment
It is your job to convince the rest of us of something. Use all the skills of argument and persuasion and give us a presentation/speech to prove your point.
You are arguing about a piece of literature. You are arguing for an interpretation of something within that literature. I leave it up to you – it can be serious or silly.
Examples: Daisy (in The Great Gatsby) deserves our sympathy.
Hamlet is innocent of Polonius’s death.
Jack (Lord of the Flies) is correct about leadership.
Jane Eyre is a good read.
Victor Frankenstein was wrong for not building the creature a mate.
You get the idea. Go in deep with something that you have read – pick a theme or big idea (a thread) and argue for or against it and then convince us to see it the way you see it. You will be speaking to the class and can use whatever props or visuals that you wish to use, or stage it as a performance – bottom line try your best to sell us your point of view.
The presentations are due __________________________________________.
Present well and be clear in your two to three forms of persuasion/argumentation that you rely on.
We then spent time learning some techniques to achieve this assignment. The power point attached below holds the techniques.
Next Class: Work block
We looked at the three pillars of poetry (Imagery, Sound, and Structure), and at how to write a poem. Students then had some writing time.
Next Class: Writing time and the next assignment (maybe)
Students spent some time working on their poems, and then some more trivia was played, this time 90s trivia - again poorly. :)
Next Class: How to write a poem and writing time.
For those that were there (all 6) they played trivia - poorly :)
Next Class: Writing Time
Language warning – some of the poems use language that we may not be comfortable with as they are making a statement about treatment, behaviour, language, or situation, or they are reclaiming terms and words that others not in the group may not be comfortable with.
We started with listening to "America" by Allen Ginsberg. We took a brief moment to make sense of what was being said and to try and understand what was being protested.
From there, I turned students loose on two web sites to explore the poems;
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/101581/poems-of-protest-resistance-and-empowerment
https://poets.org/protest-poetry
Students, with a partner or two were to look at some poems and then settle on one to briefly analyze and understand. What is the poem protesting and how is it doing it.
We then discussed as a class.
Finally we ended with the idea of how do we write a protest poem.
Next Class: Writing time
We looked at four poems today and their corresponding art work. We attempted to make sense of the poems and understand what they might be saying in light of their art work.
This is one possible venue of writing for a poem that students need to write.
Next Class: Poems of Protest
I posted ten questions having to do with the film (and life maybe) and then gave students some thinking time. We then discussed as a class. Some insights were had.
Next Class: Poetry with purpose
We continued and finished watching Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
Next Class: Discussion.
We started watching the film. The goal is to have a discussion about it on Thursday.
Next Class: Finish watching film
We spoke of how the thread poems are an ongoing assignment with no due date posted yet. And I showed a sample one.
Next up we looked at a power point on comedy that included a few sample videos. This is to prepare us for viewing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
We spoke of Absurdism, Farce, Slapstick, Verbal, and Situational Comedies.
Next Class: Viewing Movie.
The students were given the following instructions;
THREAD POEM
GOAL: Craft a poem that in some way captures the essence of, speaks to, and/or elucidates a thread as you’ve come to know it in the context of any of the work that you have read this year.
SPECIFICS: Your document will include:
In the heading at the top of the page:
Your name
The work you are reading (correctly punctuate the title)
The thread you are studying
The poem itself will include:
An original title
At least 12 lines
The rest, as they say, is up to you—as long as it “in some way captures the essence of, speaks to, and/or elucidates your thread.”
Cleverly uses at least two or more different poetic devices (that is why you did the quiz).
Next Class: A quick discussion of these poems and talking about Comedy.
The students were given the following instructions;
• Create a quiz challenge
• Using poetry terms that you know, and that you don’t remember, emphasis on the don’t remember. Use the poetry terms sheet, or online to find some. Create a quiz, of any type (fill-in-the-blanks, multiple choice, etc.). The quiz should be minimum ten questions.
• You can work in pairs or in trios, or solo.
• Do answers and quiz separate.
• Feel free to have another student(s) rate your quiz after you are done.
They had the block to make the quizzes.
Next Class: Thread Poems
Students had a chance to breath after writing the AP exam. We went with out structure. Yikes.
Next Class: Creating a poetry terms quiz.
We looked at another poem, at an old provincial exam poem and multiple choice, and an old AP exam MCQ and poem, that we actually had looked at already. Last chance to get ready for those taking the exam. Also good to look at poetry as we might write some soon.
Next Class: Post exam contemplation
In order to practice for the exam we analyzed two poems, "Auto Wreck" and "Ex-Basketball Player". Students had limited time to make meaning of the poems.
Next Class: We will dig into some more poems.
We looked at the online exam today and did the multiple choice. Make sure you complete the practice.
Next Class: We will analyze some poetry.
We colour mapped the last essay and then went over the MC from the day before. Lots to learn about our writing and ability to answer MC questions.
Next Class: Computer Exam MC to keep practicing.
Today, students wrote a practice exam, or at least the part 1 of the exam. I will mark it and we will see what we will do with it.
Next Class: Bring your computers, looking at the practice exams online.
We spent the class talking about how you approach and prepare and take a major exam. I gave some points. Hopefully this was helpful.
Next Class: We write part 1 practice exam - the multiple choice.
Ms Reily came and spoke to the class. I will post her power point when I get it.
We then spoke of Hamlet and tried wrapping up the play. Attentions were a bit wandery.
Next Class: Exam Preparation
Students wrote essay number 6 and answered some questions about it.
Next Class: Wrap up of Hamlet
With a passage from the play to annotate and makes sense of as a group and make, and then connect it to the themes of the play, students worked for the first 30 minutes. Then it was time to present their ideas and understandings to the class.
Next Class: In class write
We spoke of the info session on Friday about the exam.
Then it was the reflection;
Take a moment and reflect.
What are you good at so far in English.
i.e. I have some strengths in my annotation skills and I am able to use a number of techniques like questioning and connecting to make sense of what I am reading.
Plus, what can you improve at.
i.e. I can improve upon my analytical writing by creating stronger thesis statements to organize my essays and by putting more effort into proofreading to catch simple mistakes in grammar.
Plus. Plans for learning
i.e. I plan to spend more time reading to deepen my understanding of the material.
Next up we finished watching Hamlet, and saw everyone die.
Finally, I randomized the kids into groups and gave them a passage from the play to annotate as a group and make sense of it, then connect it to the themes of the play. They will have some work time tomorrow then present their ideas to the class.
Next Class: Work time and presenting.
We finished watching Hamlet and once more spoke of some of the big lines and the important moments, and generally just made sense of the story.
Students should be filling out a Threads sheet for Hamlet as this will help with studying for the exam.
Next Class: Finishing the play and digging into some themes and motifs of the play through passage analysis.
We continued watching Hamlet and hit some of the big speeches, including To be or not to be ... .
We ought to finish the content tomorrow.
Next Class: The Conclusion of the Play
We started with some general facts and trivia about Shakespeare, as well as the Renaissance just to help us set the stage, so to speak, for our look at Hamlet. We ran through a slide show (attached) and I had handed out some questions (attached) and then we looked closely at the first 23 lines of the play (in fact we had volunteers read it aloud for us). We made sense of the lines and established the mood (atmosphere) of the play at this point.
From there, we started watching the 1990 version of the play starring Mel Gibson.
Next Class: Continue our exploration of the play.
We began our explanation of Hamlet through some anticipation statements. We had an amazing and often candid at times discussion.
Next Class: Concepts and Openings
Students wrote their 5th essay. FRQ#3 second attempt. We also added on 10 multiple choice questions.
Next Class: We begin looking into Hamlet.
We finished the sharing of the discussion groups. Some more great points discussed and conversations had.
After we were done I spoke briefly about sophistication in writing again. See attached document.
Next Class: Essay #5 - FRQ3
Groups shared their discussions with the rest of the class. Some really good points were brought up and discussed. Great work.
Next Class: Complete the discussions and revisit sophistication.
We started with the Multiple Choice Quiz on the novel. Lots to learn here, like some multiple choice questions are terrible, and that others are vague, and we should not change answers, and we need to move quick, and the right answer is the one that is best of the options.
Next, the class had some time to meet in their groups and plan how they are going to present their information tomorrow.
If they had any time after that, they could look at an older essay and colour code it based on what parts are commentary, what points are the thesis and what points, what points are evidence, and what is linkage or transitions. (see attached)
Next Class: Presenting Discussions on Frankenstein
We started with some questions, moved to some answers and then back to more questions.
Question on Narrative Structure of Frankenstein
How is this story structured? What impact does that structure have on the themes and motifs of the novel?
Who are the narrators of the story? (What voice?) What impact/effect does having different narrators have on the novel?
Things to learn/know
Epistolary Format: The epistolary format is a literary style that uses letters, diary entries, and other forms of correspondence to tell a story. This technique allows for multiple perspectives and personal insights, often creating an intimate connection between the reader and the characters. In the context of narrative structure, it can enhance themes of isolation, identity, and moral complexity by showcasing characters' thoughts and emotions through their written words.
Frame narrative: A frame narrative is a storytelling technique where a main story surrounds or encompasses one or more smaller stories within it. This structure not only provides context for the inner narratives but also allows for varied perspectives and themes to be explored, creating a layered storytelling experience that enhances the reader's understanding of the characters and situations involved.
Gothic literature: Gothic literature is a genre that combines elements of horror, mystery, and the supernatural, often set against dark, foreboding landscapes. This genre emerged in the late 18th century, reflecting Romantic ideals that emphasized emotion and the sublime, while exploring themes of isolation, madness, and the uncanny. The genre not only influenced literature but also cultural perceptions of fear and the unknown.
Romanticism: Romanticism is an artistic and intellectual movement that emerged in the late 18th century and emphasized emotion, individualism, and the beauty of nature. This movement marked a reaction against the rationalism of the Enlightenment and sought to elevate imagination and personal experience in literature and art, leading to new forms of expression and thematic exploration.
Final Questions for thinking about ( I suggested write down the answers)
How is this novel an example of a Gothic Novel / a Romantic Era piece of writing / a frame narrative / epistolary structure? What does that add to the novel.
Next Class: Some group time to finalize group report outs, and the Frankenstein Multiple Choice Quiz
We spoke of the discussion questions briefly and then it was on to learning to recognize sophistication. There were handouts of sample essays and we did some grading then a brief discussion on how to approach the sophistication point, more on that later.
Next Class: Narrative structure in the novel
We looked at a bit of information on Mary Shelley (see power point) and then at her creation - the novel. Students were organized into groups by AI and then assigned a question for discussion and presentation next week of their findings.
The questions were as follows;
1. What kind of man is Victor Frankenstein? Find at least five characteristics and provide evidence for your choices.
2. What moral/religious concerns does Frankenstein confront? How is the creature a metaphor? Are we still facing the same moral concerns today? How do these concerns apply to modern problems or inventions? What are your feelings or thoughts regarding these issues?
3. a) Is Victor Frankenstein a god? What makes a god a god? So is he one? b) The subtitle for the novel is The Modern Prometheus. Why? What connection does the novel have to the myth?
4. The nature of the creature: What is the nature of the creature when it first encounters people? Is this akin to humankind before “the fall”? How is this creature like human beings?
5. Contrast Victor Frankenstein with his creature. Which is more worthy of our sympathy? Why? Whose crimes are more heinous? Consider where the creature learns his behaviour.
6. “Doomed to live.” What does this quote mean and how is it connected to the story? Is there a larger message here about our own lives?
7. “I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel…” Explain this quotation in light of what you know about the tragic fall. Who is fallen, and who initiates that fall? Who is the tragic hero?
Next Class: Discussing the sophistication aspect of writing.
We finished the presentations and then finished the prezi from yesterday. We then looked at the aspects of a Gothic Novel.
Next Class: Discussion questions and Groups.
We had some presentations from previous to spring break to complete and so we did half of them. Then it was a quick history lesson to help contextualize the novel.
https://prezi.com/view/p2Gc0Qp6L0qXn4LsKLd5/
Next class: remainder of the presentations and finishing up the history.
We went through the slides attached below and discussed/debated the statements.
Next Class: Some history and a look at the novel.
Students did excellent work. We heard a number of them but sadly did not finish them. We will continue hearing from them bit by bit.
Over spring break read Frankenstein.
Next Class: The Shelley's intro and Frankenstein
We dug into John Donne (I gave information on the man - much to the shock of the class about his marriage). Students then dug into "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning". We made some sense of it. We then moved on to Yeats' "Second Coming". We hopefully mades sense of that poem. Both were practice at looking at more complex poetry and making sense of it.
Next Class: More presentations
We heard a handful of poetry presentations. very impressive. I look forward to more.
We then had a mostly complete abridged history of the English Language. More to come if you want it.
Next Class: A Valediction, and maybe more poems.
Mr. Adrian came in for a guest lesson and spoke of the Metaphysical Poetry article, as well as deep a deep dive into the George Herbert poem "The Collar" lots to learn about it and some great insights into the poem.
Next Class: Some presentations and some more poetry analysis.
I gave the AP class a word of the day, for fun - Abscond. I will try to come up with more.
We dove into a power point on poetic devices and used that information (attached below) to take a far too quick look at Wilfred Owen's "Dulce et Decorum Est" (https://youtu.be/qB4cdRgIcB8?si=zstuwfM6D8Ud7y1m). We wrapped up our speed look at poetic devices and tone and the importance of them as Mr Adrian came in to set up his guest teaching class tomorrow.
He gave students a handout on "What is Metaphysical Poetry" and asked the kids to give it a read. Then he handed out a few poems. He read George Herbert's "The Collar" our loud and asked for first impressions. He then had kids define the word collar and at least three or four possible definitions were achieved - priest collar, restraint collar, and caller sprang our pretty quick. For home work students were then tasked with re-reading the poem with one of those definitions in mind and to make sense of the poem with that definition as the guiding force.
Next Class: Mr. Adrian's guest lesson
Once more we wrote. Students had the shortened class to write another FRQ 1 response. Anxiety levels are still up, but we are also working on getting writing time down. Remember to breath.
Next Class: Poetry and imagery, attitude, metaphor and symbolism.
Class shortened due to parent-teacher conferences.
We tried our hand at multiple choice questions based on a poem. Students were given the poem and then given time to answer the questions. We marked them as a class. I also spoke of how to take a multiple choice test.
Next Class: Another FRQ on poetry.
I gave a choice of two poems - "Gallbladder" by Evelyn Lau, and "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes. Students had the following task;
Pick one of the two poems. Annotate to understand. Be thorough.
Be sure to indicate – setting and situation, character (if applicable), choice and levels of diction, (your annotation will indicate syntax notables, connotative or denotative differences so no need to do extra on that), and tone, mood and theme.
Students had time to do this and then hand it in.
Next Class: Multiple Choice questions on a poem.
Today's lesson turned into a crash course on sonnets so we could use them as a vehicle to continue to explore diction in poetry. Check out the prezi I used. https://prezi.com/view/JcJJUKt3cz2yGSTUWydI/
We then took a look at 4 sonnets and in groups dug through them for deeper meaning and greater understanding that was then shared out with the class.
Next Class: We look at a couple more poems and maybe revisit the essay writing skill.
We went through the importance of words in poetry and how to go about examining diction. See the power point attached.
Then we dug into "Aubade with Burning City" by Ocean Vuong and used our new found understanding of diction to start to make sense of the poem.
Finally, I handed out the poetry theme presentation assignment. We will see these next week.
Next Class: Three more poems to examine.
Make sure you have signed up to AP Classroom. The code you need is - 3QVNNA
(https://myap.collegeboard.org/ Then the code is - 3QVNNA)
I have released a great number of videos to watch on the various topics that we have covered. I have also released a number of sample FRQ responses that you can do on your own. You can also self assess. I can monitor what you have done. If you want more practice with the essay response writing then check out some of the essay writes as it will let you write one. You should try to do at least one over spring break.
Today students wrote the FRQ1. I think this might be the hardest one yet. This gives us our base line of all three types of questions. Now we can start to take the essay questions serious and try and grow in our skills.
Next Class: A look at Shape and Sound of poetry and exploring "Aubade with Burning City"
We started with a brief reminder that marks on MyEd are a loose work in progress and I would not trust them at all. We got a visit from Mr Adrian too.
Then we got the last of our thread presentations.
From there students jumped into analyzing "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard". Students split into groups and dug into the poem and we made sense of it. Hopefully sense was made.
Finally, I handed out a poem and suggested students should have a listen to it.
Click the link and and then click the listen button.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/56769/aubade-with-burning-city
Also, check out
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45527/lines-composed-a-few-miles-above-tintern-abbey-on-revisiting-the-banks-of-the-wye-during-a-tour-july-13-1798 for a poem about setting. Great poem, we may circle back to it.
Next Class: FRQ1 Write.
We took a quick look at "This is just to say" and then dove into "My Last Duchess". We used a power point to see us through. We then tackled two more poems to talk about character, setting and have some fun.
The thesis statement is for homework - due tomorrow.
Next Class: "Elegy in a country churchyard" to explore setting and poems.
We had a thread presentation from last week to do, then it was into our poetry intro. Students started with asome quotes about poetry and got to share and talk with each other about what they thought poetry was. Then we jumped into a power point on the subject, followed by one on our focus this week of Character and Setting (see below). We then tackled the "Passionate Shepherd to his love" and "The Nymph's reply to the Shepherd". we yused them to look at character. I left the students with "My Last Duchess" to read an dhopefully understand. We will jump into it tomorrow and maybe a few others.
Next Class: More poems on characters
Students spent the block writing. It was there first shot at the FRQ3. Already seeing improvement in stress and time management from their last FRQ write.
We went with the 2009 Prompt. See me in class if you need it.
Next Class: We look at poetry and even how to approach it.
We finished the presentations. Great work by all students.
Then we started on a bit of a "game" where I showed a prompt and students in small groups came up with connected books and threads and guessed at how good their essay would be. I started rushing them along a bit to quicken their thinking. We only got to two. So we may come back to it again some time. (Power Point attached)
We got through many of our thread presentations. Great work. Lots was learned.
Next Class: The remainder, and examining the prompts and applying threads.
With short stories behind us, it was time to turn their attention back to the novels they read prior to the course start up. To do so, we looked at this idea of threads. I showed a power point (attached below) and went over what they are, gaves an example presentation, and then showed the task, which is to build a presentation. Students then had some time for this.
Next Class: Presentations on threads. (Trust me - you will all succeed at this task)
With short stories behind us, it was time to turn their attention back to the novels they read prior to the course start up. To do so, we looked at this idea of threads. I showed a power point (attached below) and went over what they are, gaves an example presentation, and then showed the task, which is to build a presentation. Students then had some time for this.
Next Class: Presentations on threads. (Trust me - you will all succeed at this task)
We started with writing terrible love poetry. It was meant to be fun and silly, and also get students writing again without stress.
Then we dove into some good poetry. Students were given a package a love themed poems and they had to find a partner and dig into a poem in the package and analyze it. After a chunk of time they were asked to share the poem with the class and briefly explain what it was about. We made it through most but not all. Some good insights into the poems. Perhaps we will come back and visit some of these poems again later. Hopefully, students can see some joy in poetry and not be afraid of it.
Next Class: We start dealing with the novels students read, and we deal with the FRQ3 and writing again.
We spoke briefly on essays and on what we are doing next class, and decided we would take a break from writing this week only to go hard moving forward.
Then we got on to Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery". This time around we did a whole class discussion. We circled up and used some questions as a guide and let loose talking about the story. So many great points raised. The only thing missed was the point of view. Great work.
Next class: Some terrible love poetry and more.
Students gave their brief thoughts on Updike's "A&P". Then we talked of conformity. Students were put into three groups and connected different parts of the story to conformity. We shared it out and had a good conversation about it. We did not fully get to sharing the theme, but we got to theme in a way.
Next Class: Read "The Lottery".
We looked at our second part of elements of fiction. (attached below)
We then briefly looked at the imagery of the story to help find theme. The stables, the prairies, the dog, and more. Imagery is another way into a story. We even through around the term juxtaposition.
Next Class: Shopping in the A&P
Students started with some multiple choice questions on the short story. Then it was a quick lesson on irony, and then some small group discussions on the short story "The Story of an Hour". Some understandings were had.
Next Class: Reading "The Move", and more elements of fiction.
Students had the block to practice one of the FRQ2 style response writes. They had 60 minutes to write a response based on the 2015 AP Exam FRQ2. Handout is available in class.
They were very focused. I will look at the responses and we will see what we need to work on.
Next Class: Back to Short stories and more Elements of Fiction and the short story "The Story of an Hour".
Students finished the discussion on understanding "A Rose for Emily" and then we shuffled the groups and spoke on four big ideas about "The Yellow Wallpaper". The ideas were;
What does “The Yellow Wallpaper” say about each of the following topics:
The Gender Hierarchy of Marriage
The Dangers of the Private Sphere
The Need for Creative Self-Expression
Desire to Control One’s Own Life
Finally, we spoke about what tomorrow will be, a writing day, and I asked that students find some threads between the stories if they can.
Next Class: Students try thier hand at an FRQ2 style question by writing a response.
Students split into groups and dug into "A Rose for Emily" we then started discussing it.
Next Class: More on this and "The Yellow Wallpaper"
Feb 4
I am trying to use some of the resources on AP College Classroom. You should sign up and check it out.
They have some videos.
Here are some you should watch;
https://apclassroom.collegeboard.org/d/nhcovluc7p?sui=13,1 - Understanding Character
https://apclassroom.collegeboard.org/d/kcrrsl6qlf?sui=13,1 - Understanding Plot Structure
There will be more coming.
I also recommend you try the multiple choice questions.
We started out with the Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl" and made sense of the story and discussed it looking at things like structure, tone, technique and character. We attempted to come up with some thematic ideas.
We moved on to the Ernest Hemingway's "Hills like White Elephants". Students had a good sense of what this story was about. We spent time discussing it, looking at character, and a lot at setting and what it reveals, including the characters movements and position in that setting. We ended with trying to think of thematic ideas for this one too.
Next Class: We dig into Faulkner's "A rose for Emily."
We continued with the highlighting work from last day's power point. Students were able to see that there is maybe a bit too much evidence and could have more commentary or explanation. You can see a sample of highlighting down below.
From there we jumped to our elements of fiction information. I wanted to refresh everyone with the aspects that we would be talking about so we covered the first half of our elements of fiction. Check out the power point attached below.
Next class: We dig into "Girl" and "Hills like White Elephants"
We started with an examination of Thesis statements and a marking of some samples to see what we need to be able to do. Check out the first power point.
Second we started looking at the aspects of content in our writing, the claims (points), evidence, and commentary (explanation). We worked through the another power point, and used a sample piece of reading and a sample essay.
We will continue with this next class before getting to the short stories.
We started with an examination of Thesis statements and a marking of some samples to see what we need to be able to do. Check out the first power point.
Second we started looking at the aspects of content in our writing, the claims (points), evidence, and commentary (explanation). We worked through the another power point, and used a sample piece of reading and a sample essay.
We will continue with this next class before getting to the short stories.
We continued on with our look at the process of going from reading to writing. We worked through finding theme and then on to planning, thesis/topic generation and execution of writing. Check out the power point attached below.
Students were then put to practice with coming up with a topic/thesis statement to write about "First Sight". they were told to use the Smart Sentence Generator and then rewrite it two more times. From there, they were to take their best one and hand that in to me by tomorrow's class.
Next Class: A look at writing.
We finished up with our exploration of "First Sight". Students were asked to summarize in one sentence. We then looked at imagery, and briefly spoke of mood, and word choice, and then worked up to tone and finally theme. This was practice to how we analyze.
Next I began the lesson on going from annotation to explanation/ interpretation. Today was part one of the lesson. We will continue tomorrow. I will post the notes on tomorrows entry.
We started with my getting to know you survey. Thank you for filling it out.
From there, we jumped to the terminology sheet. I gave a big, but not complete list of terms that students should know (see below). We then went over to see if there were any terms that we needed to unpack further or dig into more.
The next piece was the annotation skill. I gave a handout about the skill and spoke about how highlighting is not enough, nor is just identifying or labeling, we have to dig deeper to what it means and what it is about.
We then put the skill to work on Phillip Larkin's poem "First Sight". We had a quick conversation about the surface level of the poem and next class we will dig deeper.
Next Class: More of the poem and looking at analysis.
We started with a quick intro and review of the school conduct and expectations presentation.
I handed out the tentative schedule and course document.
Then it was on to connections - check out the AI generated power point below.
Finally it was a crash course on history. Context is required so we did it as fast as we could. Check out the Prezi -https://prezi.com/view/60KOYem7grmQOqKW5Mlr/
(Let me know if there are problems with the links).
Next Class: A survey, some terminology and talk of annotation.
Many of the students were able to make this special session. I ran through the power point attached below. We spent some time talking about Blake's "The Lamb". (So nice to begin discussing quality literature). Students also had a chance to sign up to AP Classroom. (https://myap.collegeboard.org/ Then the code is - 3QVNNA) I also gave a handout of useful tools for the course (available in my room), And students had a chance to sign out Frankenstein to be read by March 31.
I am looking forward to class on Monday. See you all then.
We had our first meeting and books were made available. I spoke of why I selected the books, and how they can help you in the class - just a little. I also spoke of some future writing plans - though nothing concrete at this point, keep checking this space for information. If you have any questions please email or come see me.
One of the ideas that I threw out there was to have a lunch book chat one day where we talk about the novels. I like this idea. I will give up a lunch for this. More if we think it useful.
Let us say early November we have a book chat lunch and discuss the novels. Students can bring their frustrations, their joys, and their questions and observations to the discussion.